


The Quidditch Cup Final

by Yatorihell



Series: In The Darkness [12]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, ノラガミ | Noragami
Genre: Kazubisha, Multi, Quidditch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 20:30:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11608365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yatorihell/pseuds/Yatorihell
Summary: The final match of the Quidditch season - Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw - decides who wins the Quidditch Cup! Also Yato finds out something important is happening soon, and beginnings to plan what he will do.Thank you to Gio (the_musical_alchemist) for beta-ing me!Dedicated to Jenny, happy birthday!





	The Quidditch Cup Final

**Author's Note:**

  * For [skyheaven1231](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyheaven1231/gifts).



Yato heard nothing about the stone or the chamber. Even the extra pairs of ears he had acquired (namely, Yukine’s and Hiyori’s) hadn’t picked up on anything in class that might’ve hinted at what was going on.

_“Let it go,” Yukine had whined, sick of the fuss over something that seemingly wasn’t happening. “The whole thing probably blew up in their faces.”_

Yato, of course, was having none of it. With every protest Yukine proposed, Yato’s nerves frayed just little bit more. Every conversation they had become more sullen, an unspoken topic lingering in the air waiting to ignite a spark that would burst into a full-blown argument.

Hiyori was torn. On the one hand, Yukine had a point. It was now May and nothing had happened, and the teachers were their usual foreboding selves. But the niggling thought of what she and Yato had overheard pushed into her mind. Every time she tried to believe that it was all a crazy idea that their imagination had run away with, the feeling of that sinister aura of that night in the library crept back in.

The subject was locked away, suppressed, consuming their thoughts that remained unvoiced. Yato’s pent up stress had one outlet: Quidditch.

Once again, Slytherin was up against Gryffindor. He flew, harder, faster, wilder. Once the golden snitch was clenched in his fist, Slytherin rocketed to first place in the Quidditch Cup. The murderous glare contorting Bishamon’s face as her hair slowly turned its usual shade of angry red was enough to quench Yato’s irritation.

He caught sight of Hiyori and Yukine waiting for him after the game, slightly windswept and trying not to smile too much as Bishamon sent scathing glares in his direction.

Maybe they’re right.

Maybe it’s nothing.

 

~

 

The end of May brought blue skies, sunshine, and the final match of the Quidditch Cup: Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor. And Bishamon was jittering.

“There is no way we can let Ravenclaw catch the snitch,” she fretted. Her robe flowed out behind her as she paced the tent, onlooked by the rest of the team.

“Isn’t that your job?” Yugiha – the Keeper and reluctant Captain of the team – asked quietly. This earned an unimpressed look from Bishamon. She ignored the question, turning once again to pace back across the tent.

“As long as we get 50 points, THEN catch the snitch, we will win,” Aiha chirped, hoping to lighten the tension that Bishamon was starting to spread to the other players.

Bishmon nodded, eyes fixated on the ground, ears perked to listen for the announcement for them to enter the pitch. This was the only way to beat Slytherin who had managed to, somehow, steal the crown for most of the year. That would end today.

The flap of the tent suddenly opened, letting palesunshine into the tent right where Bishamon stood. She squinted slightly at the figure blocking the opening before recognising the blue robes and mess of brown hair. Ravenclaw’s Seeker, Kazuma.

He looked around the tent. The team members paid him no heed as they talked in pairs or sat alone and stared into space.

“I’ve never seen your team so despondent,” he said with a humorous smile, the sullen looks of the Gryffindor team reassuring his own team’s dominance.

“We like to concentrate before a match, not try and intimidate the other team,” Bishamon replied smoothly, shaking her blonde hair slightly as if brushing off the comment. “Are you done?”

“I would hate to make you feel like you couldn’t have a friendly chat with your competitor before a game,” Kazuma responded equally, the cock of his head making him seem more approachable. Cute, almost. Unfortunately for him, Bishamon had no interest flirting.

“I thought a rival is meant to be someone equal to yourself?” Bishamon said sweetly. The undertone of meaning made Kazuma’s head tilt back up to look her in the eye.

“I can’t allow you to be my equal just yet,” he said pleasantly. Before Bishamon could come up with another argumentative comment, the flap fell closed and shadows were cast across her face once again.

The eyes of the team were on her as she quickly glanced around, the trumpets sounding to announce the beginning of the game. She snatched her own broom up from the wall of the tent, fitting into her hand naturally as if she were born just for this moment. Mustering a confident voice and a brilliant smile, Bishamon stood poised with her broomstick, and her team stood to attention a little more.

“Right.” Her voice was determined, authoritative. She would not let her team down. “Let’s kick some ass.”

 

~

 

One advantage that Gryffindor liked to think they had was Bishamon. She joined the team as soon as she started her second year at Hogwarts, a life-long obsession with the sport and listless, dull summers practicing had refined her into a competitive Seeker. She damn-well commanded the team at this point, a legacy of Quidditch Cup champions in her family somehow giving her the right to lead.

However, she had already lost the Snitch once in the first game of the season to the ‘Slytherin bastard’, as she liked to call him after that little prank he pulled in their first year. It was enough to make her hair flare up again at the thought of it.

As chance would have it, Kazuma – rumoured to be the best Seeker the school had seen yet – had been enlisted into Ravenclaw’s team the very same year. Apparently, someone had seen him do something near-impossible on a broomstick and had coerced him into joining the team. What this feat was, Bishamon didn’t know.

Once the Quaffle was in the air, Bishamon flew out of the danger zone, Bludgers already hurtling at the players in vicious bids to knock them off their brooms. Bishamon could do nothing but sit out of reach until it was time to catch the Snitch. If it would ever appear to her.

Ravenclaw was known for their agility in the air and precision aim, just about always scoring and managing to knock the opposition off their brooms. At some point, Bishamon was sure that a well-aimed Bludger had possibly killed one of her team as they nosedived towards the sandy pitch below.

Rather quickly her team had managed to score 40 points and even deflect some of Ravenclaw’s attempts, though they had more than double their own score.

Once they had managed to hit 50 points, Bishamon was on the move, eyes combing the air for any glimmer of tell-tale Snitch. Across the pitch she could see Kazuma hovering much higher than she was, seeking out the golden orb. It just so happened that this was the first time she would be competing against Kazuma for the Snitch.

Bishamon felt the familiar tightness in her chest that preceded a chase, senses heightened. The same exhilarating feeling of being poised to soar through the pitch and outmatch her opponent, testing their nerve, coursed through her.

A sudden dart of movement next to Bishamon’s head sent her whirling around just in time to see the Snitch tearing across the pitch, right underneath where the teams were still battling it out.

Bishamon wasted no time in giving chase, her sudden movement telling Kazuma that she had the Snitch in her sights, and that it was heading straight for him. Bishamon’s focus zoned out, nothing was more important in that moment than the Snitch, than victory, even if it meant that she would crash straight into Kazuma who was hurtling directly at her with his hand outstretched.

Fifteen metres.

Ten metres.

Five metres.

Without warning the Snitch whizzed up, nimbly dodging the other players to escape its pursuers who immediately veered upwards, nearly broom to broom.

 _He has quite a nerve,_ Bishamon thoughts distractedly. The last Ravenclaw Seeker would’ve turned off and gone around the pitch, but Kazuma was here, mimicking her actions of vertically rocketing through the pitch faster than anyone could see or aim a Bludger at them.

Bishamon pressed her feet hard into the stirrups of her Nimbus 2000, extending herself with her arm outstretched, so close to the Snitch she could feel the flutter of its wings brushing her fingertips.

Then it was gone. Both the presence of the Snitch, and her competitor, were nowhere in sight. Instead the only thing that could pierce her confusion was the tannoy which rang through the air, loud enough for her to hear.

“Kazuma receives a hundred and fifty points for catching the Snitch! Ravenclaw wins!”

Through the deafening roar of approval from the crowd and the dispersing players touching down, Bishamon could see a blue-clad player, their fist raised triumphantly in the air as they flew back down without a backwards glance.

“Are you bloody serious?” Bishamon hissed under her breath.

 

~

 

In short, Gryffindor’s crushing defeat secured the Quidditch Cup for Ravenclaw. Huddled on the pitch a safe distance away, Hiyori, Yato and Yukine watched the scene unfolding before them.

Few things delighted Yato more than seeing the once composed Lion Princess – now with a thunderous red-head – having a tantrum so violent that he thought that she might snap her broom and hex the entire Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

“Oh dear…” Hiyori murmured. Part of her wanted to soothe Bishamon, but instinct told her to let her get on with it. Yukine hmph-ed at the childish behaviour whilst Yato enjoyed the spectacle.

“It’s time for lunch.” Yukine said. It was actually three hours past lunch but the point was clear. He began to trudge through the soggy grass, Yato and Hiyori tearing their eyes away from the pitch to follow, the hems of their robes dirtying with mud.

“She’s by far the worst seeker,” Yato drawled, arms stretched behind his head in lazy contempt. “Even Hufflepuff has a better chance at winning the cup than Gryffindor if _that’s_ the best they have.”

Hiyori bit her tongue, something she had learned to do recently as Yato seemed to have a gift for antagonizing anyone within a five-metre radius.

“Could be worse,” Yukine called, a half smirk pressed on his lips. “Hiyori could be on the team.”

Yato let out a fake shudder of dread whilst Hiyori’s mouth dropped open.

“Hey!” she said crossly. “I will learn how to fly!”

“A requirement for flying is keeping your eyes open,” Yato said pointedly.

Hiyori didn’t open her eyes when Yato flew them up to the Astronomy Tower, and she certainly didn’t when she crashed into Yato.

She huffed, scuffing her shoe slightly on the grassy outcrop which began to give way to paved pathways. The conversation was a lost cause if they were only going to make gibes at her.

“I take it you want to join the team next year?” Yato asked.

“I do.” Yukine spun slowly as he walked so he could flash a slightly homicidal grin at Yato before turning back around. “I’d like to kick your ass!”

“Like to see you try, Puff.” Yato didn’t bother keeping the smile out of his voice, earning a middle finger from Yukine as the crowds meandered him towards the Great Hall.

Hiyori was still quiet, most likely sulking at the banter he and Yukine had at her expense. Yato playfully butted into her shoulder with his own in an attempt to cheer her up.

“Y’know,” he said, digging his hands into his pockets and whispering conspiratorially, “the first time I flew, I went straight into a tree and an owl tried to peck my eyes out.”

Hiyori looked at him dubiously, but a small smile still found its way to her lips. “Still better than nearly crushing someone.”

“Clearly, Hiyori, you don’t understand that owls can be little _shits_.”

 

~

 

June arrived with a clear sky and a celebratory feast to present the Quidditch Cup to Ravenclaw. Festooned with blue and silver, the Great Hall was particularly festive despite there being no holiday respite yet. Cakes and desserts on the platters had been aptly decorated with blue icing embellished with Ravenclaw’s eagle sigil.

Bishamon was trying, and failing, to act as if the fact Gryffindor came third didn’t phase her. She only cracked a smile was as the feast ended and Hiyori told her about her first flying lesson.  
“That’s the worst first lesson I’ve heard of,” Bishamon said with a wry smile. The part when she nearly killed Yato was her favourite.  

Hiyori’s smile matched Bishamon’s. The memory was still fresh in her mind, and now she could laugh over it rather than feel mortified.

“I’ll practice,” Hiyori said simply, spooning a helping of vegetables onto her plate from the bowl in front of her. Bishamon hummed around a mouthful of food before swallowing to ask Hiyori a question.

“So, your parents are getting you a broom?” she asked interestedly.

“Mm-hm!” Hiyori mumbled around her full mouth. “For my birthday!”

“Which is…?”

“June 28th.”

Bishamon propped her chin on her hand, a faint frown pressed into her forehead. “Y’know you can’t practice outside of school? Since you live in the Muggle world, that is.”

Hiyori stopped mid-mouthful and looked at Bishamon in surprise. Oh. That hadn’t crossed her mind. Hiyori looked down at her plate disappointedly. At this rate she wouldn’t be able to qualify for the team unless she had a miracle.

The pair were quiet for a moment before Hiyori began questioning Bishamon about Quidditch tryouts. When she asked what her chances were for qualifying for the team, Bishamon accidentally snorted in laughter and earned a laugh from Hiyori.

Bishamon began apologising through her unladylike laughter, but hiccups racked them and only brought fits of giggles more every time they looked at each other.

Neither of them noticed that Yato was hovering behind, listening into their conversation. He had been debating whether or not to interrupt and possibly get cursed by Bishamon for attempting to interact with Hiyori. Once talk of her birthday came up, Yato decided to stay quiet and listen in.

 _June 28 th, _Yato thought, _that was a few weeks away._

A sudden turn of Bishamon’s head made him back up, turning away to walk out of the hall which now had a dwindling number of students left. His thoughts stayed with their conversation about her birthday, remembering Yukine’s and her disappointment when he made no effort to help her celebrate it.

Maybe it would be a good idea to do something for her, though term ended before her birthday. The Hogwarts Express would take them home in the third week of June, which would be the Saturday before Hiyori’s birthday.

_What would she like?_

Yato paced through the castle until he reached the main staircase. He tilted his head up, thinking.

_How would he make it a surprise?_

He thought of every place in the castle, something that might help him. The towers, the dungeons, the library…

_The library._

A grin split across Yato’s face and he began to jog up the staircase.

He had the perfect plan.

 

~

 

Yukine was, rather peacefully, reading in the library until an uninvited person sat opposite him. With a winning smile and wheedling voice, Yato asked for Yukine’s help.

“Why can’t you ask her?” Yukine sounded just about done with Yato’s latest nonsense. He knew he shouldn’t have mentioned he was going to the library.

“It’s a surprise!” Yato stretched out on the desk, clasping his hands in front of him and trying to make his eyes as wide and innocent as he could so Yukine would take pity on him.

Yukine’s face twisted with distaste. “I think seeing your shitty face is a surprise.”

“ _Yukine…_ ” Yato’s pitched whine earned a disgruntled shush from a nearby student. Yukine buried his head back in his book, effectively making a wall between the two of them in the hopes he would leave.

He didn’t.

Pushing down the book, Yato jumped straight into his plan of action: Yukine would casually talk about birthdays to Hiyori and find out what she liked, then feedback to Yato.

Yukine gave Yato a long-suffering look. One that conveyed all the flaws of this plan which Yato had failed to notice. The fact that Yukine was the one asking didn’t hide the fact that there would be a surprise on Hiyori’s birthday, except that it would be Yato doing it instead. In fact, he would be doing all the work and have nothing to give Hiyori at all.

“Do it yourself.”

Yato’s nose scrunched slightly. Yukine clearly didn’t understand that he wanted it to be a _surprise_.

“You’re getting her a present, right?” he asked, “Since she went to all that trouble for you.”

Yukine felt heat flush through his chest and hoped it wouldn’t rise to his cheeks. The whole birthday cake thing was embarrassing, but he didn’t mind if it were Hiyori who had made it for him.

“Maybe…” he mumbled. He thrust his head back into his book, which seemed to be even more interesting now he had a reason to avoid a subject he’d rather not think about.

Yato gave him a strange look. _Was he blushing?_ He shook the question from his thoughts. More important matters were at hand.

“Well, this is your chance to do some research!” Yato persisted, hoping that a reasonable point would persuade Yukine into helping. “Do you even know what girls like?”

“As if you know any better!” Yukine scoffed.

Yato groaned and planted his head on the table with a thud. Yukine tried to act as if he didn’t care, but the seed of doubt had been planted. He _didn’t_ know what girls liked, and he certainly hadn’t thought of getting Hiyori a present.

“Fine!” Yukine exclaimed, slamming the book shut and shoving it into his bag. He wasn’t going to get anything done if this moron kept harassing him.

Yato’s head shot up, eyes alight with conceited joy. “You’ll help?”

“Only because I don’t want you to go creeping her out.”

Yukine wouldn’t admit that he too needed gift ideas, so the off-handed remark would suffice as cover for now.

Yato leant back in his chair and turned his head to the side, watching Yukine hurry through the tall bookshelves.

“Thanks, Puff!”

**Author's Note:**

> Ohohohoho what will happen next? Find out soon!


End file.
